This invention relates to packaging for fiber glass rovings. More particularly, this invention describes a method of packaging fiber glass rovings for shipping or in-process handling and storage utilizing a minimal amount of packaging material which is capable of being reused.
Fiber glass rovings are frequently used in the reinforcement of plastics and other materials. These fibers are produced by allowing molten glass to pass through small holes or nozzles located at the base of an electrically heated bushing. The glass is attenuated into continuous filaments as it passes through the holes. Once formed, the fibers are cooled with a water spray and coated with an appropriate size. The strands are then gathered and wound onto a tube to form a cake. The material is then dried by passing the cake through an appropriate drying oven. Once dried, material from several cakes is unwound and rewound to form an assembled roving.
Customers of fiber glass rovings typically demand that the material be received in undamaged condition. The nature of the fibers and the configuration of the rovings renders the material particularly susceptible to damage during shipping and handling. Furthermore, customers often demand product in which the rovings are physically connected to those of an adjacent roving within the shipping container. This interconnection of the strands from roving to roving considerably reduces the time and labor involved in processing the material for the customer.
For the past several decades, the rovings have been packaged and shipped in corrugated boxes with corrugated sleeves. These packaging materials provide stability and protection during transit. They also allow the end user to stack one pallet on top of another. Double stacking is very important to both ultimate customers and distributors of the material. Such stacking minimizes the amount of floor space necessary to store the material, allowing more room for other inventory and equipment. The present system utilizing corrugated boxes prevents the bottom pallet of rovings from becoming damaged through compression when a second pallet is placed on top of the bottom pallet.
The present system of packaging, however, utilizes a considerable amount of corrugated material. The packaging system typically contains individual sleeves for increasing stacking strength during shipping. The rovings are stacked on a shipping pallet upon which a slip sheet has been placed to prevent the rough surface of the pallet (typically wood) from abraiding or otherwise damaging the rovings. Once the rovings are stacked, corrugated panels or sleeves are placed around each column of stacked rovings. These corrugated sleeves increase the strength of the container and provide stability. Additionally, a number of support posts are located in various sleeves to further prevent crushing of the rovings when a second palletized load is stacked onto the first pallet. A top cap (typically corrugated material) is placed over the assembly to further protect the rovings.
Over the past few years, trash disposal has become a significant problem for industries in many localities throughout the United States. Sanitary landfill restrictions have become increasingly more stringent. Both residential and industrial customers of landfills are having increasing difficulty in discarding trash. As a result, the importance of recycling has increased significantly.
In light of the foregoing, it has become apparent that the present packaging system has several drawbacks which this invention is designed to overcome. First, the amount of corrugation presently used to ship fiber glass rovings is excessive. Although some customers are recycling the corrugated materials, they are faced with having to pay a recycler to haul the material away. Additionally, several landfills in the northeastern part of the United States no longer accept any corrugation. Other landfills will accept corrugation only when a surcharge is paid.
As the foregoing indicates, there is a need for a more efficient packaging system utilizing less material and/or reusable materials. This invention reduces the amount of material utilized in packaging fiber glass rovings while at the same time providing a sturdy packaging system to enable the material to survive shipping and in-process storage and handling. Furthermore, the invention will still permit customers to double stack the pallets during storage and other handling. Finally, the present invention will permit packaging materials to be reused.
The present invention provides a package assembly for shipment and in-storage handling of rovings of material comprising a support base; plurality of generally cylindrical rovings stacked vertically upon the support base, the vertically stacked plurality of rovings having at least a first roving layer and a second roving layer defining a height and having outside comers, a plurality of curved protective panels each of which is at least the height of two roving layers, wherein the protective panels approximately conform to the exposed height of the vertically stacked plurality of rovings and being located at the outside comers of the vertically stacked plurality of rovings, and, securing means for holding the support base, rovings and protective panels together.
The present invention also provides a package assembly for shipment and in-storage handling of rovings of material consisting of a support base, a plurality of generally cylindrical rovings stacked vertically upon the support base, the vertically stacked plurality of rovings having from about one to about four roving layers defining a height and having outside comers, a plurality of curved protective panels each of which is approximately conform to the exposed height of the vertically stacked plurality of rovings and being located at the outside comers of the vertically stacked plurality of rovings, optionally, a top cap placed at the side of the vertically stacked plurality of rovings opposite the support base, and, securing means for holding the support base, rovings, protective panels together, wherein the top cap also is held by the securing means when the top cap is present.
This invention further provides a method of packaging fiber glass rovings for shipping and in-process handling and storage. The method consists of placing a slip sheet on a conventional shipping pallet made of wood or another material then stacking fiber glass rovings thereupon. In a preferred embodiment, four aligned rows of rovings each three deep are placed on the slip sheet. Additional layers of rovings are stacked on top of the bottom layer until there are four layers on the pallet each containing twelve rovings for a total of forty-eight rovings per pallet. Thereafter, curved panels are vertically positioned at the four corners of the assembly of stacked rovings to protect the columns of stacked rovings located at the four corners which are particularly susceptable to damage during shipping or other handling. In a preferred embodiment, these curved panels are slightly taller than the height of the columns of stacked rovings, are approximately semi-cylindrical and approximately conform to one-half of the circumference of a column of stacked rovings. The panels protect the stacked rovings during shipping and other handling.
Vertical support posts are also provided which, in a preferred embodiment, are slightly taller than the height of the columns of stacked rovings. An appropriate cover or top cap is placed over the rovings, panels and support posts to hold the assembly together so that a stretch wrap material can be applied and to further protect the rovings during shipping, storage and other handling. The assembled load is then wrapped with stretch wrap or another appropriate material.